Looking For Advice

So I bought this ball python from an auction I won from Ben Siegel Reptiles. Here's the info that was given on the snake at the time of the auction:

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2012 Male Dinker Ball Python

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After I won him, I asked if he was captive-bred or captive-farmed. I was told "farmed in Africa".

ANYWAY! I was told that I should post on here to find out what possible morphs I should consider breeding him to IF I decide to breed him! Here's some pics of him.

http://i45.tinypic.com/16gibex.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/15f5fdz.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/34ynw8z.jpg

He's a beautiful snake and, other than an eating issue (was fed live and I've been trying to get him to eat F/T), he's awesome. My son named him Valentine because when he constricts his neck muscles, he has a couple of spots that form perfect hearts. It's wicked cool.

Anyway, thank you for reading this and for any advice offered!

I just love the way this guy looks! Wow!

Yellow belly, or something in the BEL complex(most likely a mojave) would be my first two choices.

Mojave, eh? I really love how those look. Thanks!

And thanks for the compliment, doganddisc! I thought he was stunning the moment I saw that first picture and that was why I went ahead and bid on him in the auction. I was surprised that I had actually won him. :)

What does his belly look like? Does he have clean white belly scales all the way down? The center scales? If so, I'd pair him to something in the BEL complex. If not, it really doesn't matter what you put him to but that nice reduced pattern and light color should improve on just about anything. Then if it produces anything with the same pattern and traits, hold back a female to raise up for a breed-back to see if anything else is going on in there.

I will get some pictures of his belly tomorrow when I have natural light to work with. To be honest, until now, I hadn't really paid all that much attention. I have to ask, though, what does BEL stand for? It's been quite a few years since I kept snakes, but even then I didn't really show much interest in wanting to breed what I had. This is the first time I've even remotely considered wanting to breed one of my reptiles :)

Blue eyed Leucistic = BEL. Anything that will produce them if paired to another ball in that complex.. Lesser, butter, Mojave, Russo, mocha.. Or the slightly patterned combos made with phantoms, mystics, specials, etc..

Thank you!

Looks like a cool Banded dinker you have there. I too would go with a Butter or Mojave girl, but definitely get a pastel girl as well to see how well he cleans up the pattern with the yellows of the pastel gene.

As promised, I got belly shots of Valentine :)

http://i48.tinypic.com/1il9bd.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/33utjm0.jpg

He was most unimpressed with me taking pictures of his underside and kept wanting to get away:
http://i45.tinypic.com/awavm.jpg


And because of advice given here, the opportunity to get a pastel female came up and I jumped on it ($130 shipped). She's a 2012.

http://i45.tinypic.com/350mbkn.jpg

Valentine is a very beautiful Dinker, congrats on winning him. :) I'd love to see some more pics of the pastel female. Do you have a name for her yet?

Thank you very much :) I like how crisp his markings appear.

I don't yet have a name for the female. I won't be able to take pics of her until she gets here, which most likely won't be until next week. The guy I'm buying her from is holding her for me since I don't get paid until Friday. As soon as I get her, though, I'll be taking lots of pictures of her as well :)

I would say anything that you want to try making reduced. He has the potential to throw reduced patterned morphs when bred to morph females.

Wow, he is really cool looking!

Very nice looking animals

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He is very nice. Are his belly scales that clean all the way to his tail? You may get lucky with him. I'd definitely want to keep a female he produces that looks like him to raise up and breed-back later on.

I say enchi

Enchi, fire, lesser/butter, vanilla or yellowbelly.

Pair him to an Enchi Banana ;-)

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

He is very nice. Are his belly scales that clean all the way to his tail? You may get lucky with him. I'd definitely want to keep a female he produces that looks like him to raise up and breed-back later on.

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Oh yes, his belly scales are that clean all the way to his tail. He's very appealing and I've gotten a lot of compliments on him thus far. Have even had someone on facebook message me offering to buy him from me for more than I paid for him. Of course, I said no not only because I don't want to give him up but also because he's technically my son's snake :)

Okay so I decided to try to get some more pictures of the male Dinker's underside closer toward the end of his tail since I was asked about his belly closer toward his tail. Here's the pics.

http://i47.tinypic.com/21jx5py.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/xgjnyh.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/1z1v4o0.jpg

And, just because I like this marking on the topside of his tail, I've included the following shot :D
http://i47.tinypic.com/8xn15d.jpg

I think it looks like a spector. I would pair it with yellow belly and hope for some super stripes:gj: no matter what it is it looks awesome.:D

Best mate to pair him with would be one of his daughters.Throw up some homozygotes if he's got something a bit co-dom going on

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Originally Posted by Domepiece

I think it looks like a spector. I would pair it with yellow belly and hope for some super stripes:gj: no matter what it is it looks awesome.:D

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I'm planning on trying to see if I can find a female yellowbelly sometime after the 1st of the year :)

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Originally Posted by showa

Best mate to pair him with would be one of his daughters.Throw up some homozygotes if he's got something a bit co-dom going on

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I'll be breeding him with the pastel female that I'm getting once they're ready. So I'll totally be sure to keep a female from that to breed back to him!

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Originally Posted by April McCrea

I'm planning on trying to see if I can find a female yellowbelly sometime after the 1st of the year :)



I'll be breeding him with the pastel female that I'm getting once they're ready. So I'll totally be sure to keep a female from that to breed back to him!

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I just happen to have a female yellow belly I hatched out earlier this year:D No pressure;)

lol What's your price on it?